Need Some Music? Sting Has an App for That

Okay, this may not be the next Angry Birds, but starting this Monday, the legendary singer, musician and songwriter Sting is releasing a free app on iTunes.  A message in an iPad, if you will.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the former lead singer of The Police and solo artist for the past twenty-five years in making use of iPad tech to promote his back catalog and reach a wider audience.  The app, called "Sting 25," will reportedly combine music, concert footage, photographs and videos.  The featured highlight will be footage from Sting's performance last month at New York's Beacon Theatre, which includes duets with guests such as Lady Gaga and Stevie Wonder.

Other features in the app will be a sliding timeline that shows photos and video from career milestones such as Live Aid in 1985.  Another navigation bar moves through about twenty "influences," ranging from author Quentin Crisp to the Cold War, with images and audio commentary from Sting. If any songs from eleven of Sting's solo albums reside on the user's iPad, the app automatically recognizes them.  Songs the user doesn't have can be sampled in the app and then purchased through iTunes.

Essentially, the app works as a retrospective of his long career.  "This is a very convenient way of archiving yourself," said Sting in an interview from his apartment overlooking New York's Central Park.  "There is a story, so whatever helps me to tell it, I will use.  This is the future, in my opinion.  I'm putting my money on the app."